VAMP
by On Permanent Hiatus
Summary: AU. A vampire running from a woman that haunts him, a woman without a place to run to. This is a story of forbidden love, forgotten pasts, Death, the undead, and a whole lot of blood. Better pack your holy water. NejiTen. Rated for citrus
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**Wow, I actually decided to start writing again. Well, hopefully I can write a NejiTen fic without it being complete crap this time. Also, the ages of the characters… uh… they're all legal XD

**Disclaimer: **I know I should be shot for adding another Naruto Vampire fic to the monstrous collection already established, but I'll pretend like I'm being original XD Oh, and I don't own vampires or Naruto

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"_Neji…"Breathlessly moaned, sweat, gasping. "Neji, what are you doing_?_" Fingers creeping up thighs, the dimness choked with heat. "Nej––" More gasping. "Agh! Neji_!_" Heart pounding, struggles. "Neji, you don't understand, I'm–––_!_"_

"Neji-nii?" The man's eyes flew open, his breathing rapid. "Neji-nii, are you in there?" _It was a dream_. Drowsily the longhaired figure rubbed at his eyes in the dark.

"Hinata…? Hinata, is that–––OW!"

"Neji-nii!" He lay back down immediately, rubbing at his head.

"Damnit…" He frowned into the blackness. "Who the hell closed my coffin?"

"Ah, that would be you, Neji-nii." He snorted.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked at length.

"About a month or so."

"Anything interesting happen?"

"Well…" He could hear shuffling outside his stony surroundings. "It's my… my first hunt tonight."

"Really now? Unsupervised?" He tried to stifle his yawn. "Are you prepared for that?"

"Oh! Yes! I-I've been studying really hard; I've got Anatomy down perfectly, and Appearance I could do in my sleep…" He considered letting her go on and going back to sleep a) because he knew she would do it and b) because he wasn't very fond of her anyways. The last was a bit harsh, but it was true; she was the princess of the Hyuuga vampire clan, loved and adored by all, spoiled by the clan leader. Honestly, though, she was a failure at life––– what vampire in their right mind wanted pony? He was sick of her sugary crap, but he couldn't seem to get rid of the fawning little cherub, so instead he became a worshipped older brother figure. Finally Neji let out a sigh and rubbed at his forehead.

"Hinata, how is your Seduction?" he asked bluntly. It got quiet outside.

"U-um…w-well, I…" The girl fell silent in her embarrassment. _Sounds about right_, Neji thought with another yawn. Now, should he rest up for another couple months, or should he go outside and face the world? Both sounded so terribly exciting… A sudden growl from the man's stomach decided for him. With a sigh Neji heaved the lid of his coffin over with a purposefully loud crash, startling his cousin and half the vampires who had, like him, decided to sleep in.

"You're hardly a century old, and you want to feed yourself," Neji said matter-of-factly as he stretched and stepped out of his stony bed. His back cracked audibly then. _I have_ got_ to get a mattress fitted for that thing_, Neji observed with an annoyed glare at the coffin.

"N-not true!" Hinata was insisting, clenching her fists with determination and trailing after him. "In a couple centuries I'll be a whole millennium!" Neji attempted not to roll his eyes as he headed for his closer. _Damn all these candles in this stupid castle_, he growled inwardly. _Who the crap made these stereotypes anyways_?

"A whole millennium," Neji repeated, picking out one of his favorite pairs of pants. "Wow…" His sarcasm, he knew, would go way over her sweet, little, stupid head. Still, he had six centuries and change on her, so why she thought she was being impressive was really beyond him.

"Uh-huh. So daddy thought that tonight, the eight night of the eighth month of my eight-hundred and eighty-eighth year would be appropriate." Neji shrugged off his shirt and pants as she talked. A long time ago this had scared the girl off in a flurry of embarrassment, but ever since Hinata has secured that "A" in Anatomy class she had become unbothered by his lack of modesty.

"What time is it?" Neji asked, changing the subject suddenly. He swore that he would strangle her if she started on her stupid "eight" speech again. He snorted. Back in Neji's day, vampires went and fed within a couple centuries of birth, or whatever the hell it was that brought the undead of his clan into existence. Then again, he wasn't a pampered princess, no matter that he was far prettier than the actual one.

"Um, it's seven o'clock," Hinata said finally, helping him put on his jacket as he finished dressing. "Why?"

"Because I'm going out to grab a bite." Ah, vampire jokes. You had to love them.

"B-but… you're not going to see me off on my first hunt?" Hinata asked, anxiously wringing her hands. "Most everyone will be there tonight." This time Neji really did roll his eyes as he paused to look at himself in the full-length mirror.

"Hinata, do you know the meaning of the word 'spoiled'?" The girl frowned.

"Y-yes. Why?"

"Nothing." With one last touch to his appearance Neji headed for the door. "Good luck tonight." _With her naiveté she'd land a werewolf as her first meal, _he thoughtcynically. He considered for a moment that, given the universe's history with cynical thoughts about very stupid people, perhaps he should knock on something wooden. Glancing about the hallway he was entering now, Neji had to simply do with knocking on his cousin's (hollow) head.

"Ouch!" she cried, rubbing the spot.

"It wasn't _that_hard," Neji snorted, rolling his eyes yet again. All right, so he _had_ hit her a little harder than necessary, but still, it was a small price to pay to restore the universe back to order, right?

With a smirk Neji approached a window, gazing out at the waxing white moon. Cloudless sky. Excellent. Without looking back, the man suddenly leapt out, but not before yelling back, "Break a leg, Hinata!" Figures of speech were so convenient sometimes.

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"Somebody shoot me, please." To the average observer, the woman who uttered this looked like she meant it as tired, depressed, and lonely as she was. The woman, however, would have added that she was pathetic and unemployed, too. Crap, she really needed to get a job soon because what little money she had was not going to last her, especially after tonight. _Somebody tell me when my life went wrong_.

Her name was Tenten. That's right, Tenten, without a surname or anything because apparently the orphanage she had been raised in had decided she was too old for them to choose one (although privately she was convinced they were just lazy). The woman sighed as she continued to trudge through the muddy streets, bumping into the occasional group of people off to some Friday night party. The orphanage…

She couldn't remember anything before age 17, really. That was when they had found her cold, damp, and alone. It was a wonder she had survived up until that time, they had told her. With her amnesia she would have had no way to provide for herself.

"Bull," she muttered. They had kicked her out the next year with only half the abilities she should have had as an adult because she was "ready" (but really it was probably just more expensive to keep her there). With nowhere to go, however, Tenten had trudged on. Now she was a proud 25-year-old living on her own in a not-too-shabby apartment and supporting herself with her job at Madame H's as well as the occasional prize money she won from archery contests.

Ah, archery. The one thing she could do right in life. Well, that, and horseshoes, and darts, and bowling… Well, to be honest, she just couldn't miss any sort of target period. But alas, she would no longer be able to support that hobby because she didn't _have_ her job at Madame H's anymore! All because of her stupid boss and her stupid assistant. Her cute assistant. Aw, who was she kidding? Her standards had plummeted.

Tenten had never really liked the "psychic" business anyways, even though it was only Madame H who had tricked the customers. Ugh. It was the same old, same old every time. She and her fluffy pink hair piled high, calling out to her "spirit friend" Naruto to lead the desired spirit of the dead and reunite them with their loved one. It was all a bunch of crap anyways. She knew that it was up to her and the other assistant, Lee, to cajole potential customers (picked beforehand by Madame H herself) into visiting the shop. And they would always pay handsomely. Perhaps it was just Madame H's eye for people. Tenten winced as this thought came to mind. It was also that eye that had made Tenten quit her perfectly good paying job in a storm of righteous indignation. …well, okay, more like a jealous hissy fit, but details shmetails.

He was ugly as crap. She knew this well––– _oh_, she knew it well! And yet, no man had ever treated her as Lee had, with his sweet trustworthiness and sincerity. Before the girl had realized it, he had won her over completely. She could blame her pathetic, lonely life up to that point for that mistake, and mistake it certainly was.

It was just this afternoon, in fact, right as she was returning from her lunch break that she had discovered her boss, her mentor, her best and practically only friend in the world, Madame H herself seducing Lee and him in return responding like a lost puppy. And just like that,_pffft_, her heart was broken in two. It only felt a little better after she thundered out and spent the rest of her hours alternately crying forlornly and yelling and throwing things wildly about in her small apartment. Actually, it was during one of her mad screaming sessions that she had had a positively wicked, yet undeniably brilliant idea that could easily be summed up in five small words: to Hell with it all.

And thus here she was, out on the streets by herself at night and hoping to wash away her cruel memories in alcohol, get laid, or both, rebelling severely against her upbringing and every fiber of her being. Tonight, Tenten was going to show the world what she was made of.

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The bar was slightly dark, but crowded with sweaty humans chugging down alcohol––– just the way Neji liked it. All those people, tightly packed together made for an easy get away: after all, who would miss just one tipsy woman out of so many? Tugging off his jacket, the Hyuuga waded his way through bodies, slowly and methodically picking out his choice for the night. Would it be that cute blonde one? No, she had a boyfriend, and those were a pain to fight off. What about…? He frowned. He couldn't seem to make up his mind. Normally he wasn't this much of a perfectionist; just pick a girl and go. But tonight…

Suddenly he turned to the counter. There, through the mass of human flesh, a pair of brown eyes reflected his curiosity, sucking it up and drawing him in. He felt as if someone had punched him in the gut, found himself gasping for air. The reaction only lasted for a second, but it was enough. The instant she turned away on the squeaking bar stool he knew he had found his victim.

"Oh!" She seemed startled when she turned around again to find him so close. "I… I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to stare." She nervously ran a hand through her chestnut bangs damp with perspiration.

"Not at all," Neji smirked as he sat himself next to her. "It's good to know I'm still stare-worthy." The woman giggled a little at this and Neji took note, with delight, that a pink glow had already begun to spread across her cheeks. This one would be easy.

"It's just… you've got such pretty hair," she smiled. "I've never seen a man with such pretty hair."

"I suppose it makes me special."

"Mmm." She laughed. "I like you." She picked up her glass and downed the yellowy contents, then turned back to him with a rosy smile, fingering the empty glass.

"Can I get you another drink?" Neji offered on cue. The woman acted as if she hadn't expected this.

"Would you?" He tried not to snort as he attracted the bartender's attention. As a vampire money meant nothing to him, but he still didn't like the feeling of being taken advantage of even if he _was_ acting. But once she had another glass set in front of her, the woman seemed more open.

"I'm Tenten, by the way," she grinned, extending her hand.

"Neji." They shook lightly.

"Neji, hm?" She sighed, looking around. "I suppose you never frequent places like these much?" He gave her a curious look.

"Actually…" He stopped. He didn't want to seem like he was a naïve boy trying to find a date in a bar for the first time, but at the same time women grew skittish at a whiff of expertise.

"Come to think of it, what in the world could make a lovely woman like yourself want to go down to a bar by herself at night and drink so heavily?" Her eyes widened and she turned away, the red in her cheeks intensifying.  
"Is it really that obvious?"

"Yes, it is."

"Well…" She sloshed the alcohol in her glass around, her grip weakened a little by the effect of the booze. "There was… I mean… " She was struggling to find the words. "Have you ever been in love?" Neji tried not to show his shock.

"I…" He didn't know what to say. But Tenten was already shaking her head as if it didn't matter.

"There was this guy, y'know? Real sweet, hard worker… I really liked him. I thought he felt the same way about me. Turns out he was snagged by a friend of mine… And they… I mean, I didn't think she would… " She looked at Neji. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be telling this stuff to a stranger. You've probably got problems of your own…" She gazed through brown eyes at the man sitting beside her.

"No, really, it's fine." He reached out and touched her shoulder softly. "But I don't think this is a good place to talk." He got up, picking his jacket up off his lap. "Let's go somewhere else." Tenten suddenly became more aware of herself

"Nice try, buddy, but I'm not _that _drunk," she laughed, shaking her head. "I mean, you'd have to be, uh… I mean, I don't normally… with strangers…" She gulped hard, closing her eyes. This was her chance to strut her stuff. And yet she continued to hesitate.

"Damnit, why do you have to be so gorgeous?" she asked at last. Neji smiled seductively.

"Call it a curse." He tugged at her hand lightly, which had miraculously found its way into his.

"But I…" He dipped down, trailing hot breath along her neck briefly. Her breath caught in response. His eyes… They were so beautiful and white… Beautiful…

"With me, then?" Tenten could only nod a little dizzily as she stood up, trying not to trip over herself. What the hell was going _on_? Somewhere her rational mind was screaming at the red flags that were popping up. But… She gulped again. She was lonely; what could she do? It definitely didn't help that he was hot. Tenten smirked as this thought crossed her mind. _Yeah, who the hell cares_? She thought, the alcohol taking its effect on her judgment. _To Hell with it all_!_ I'm getting lucky tonight_!

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_Human loneliness is a vampire's most valuable tool_, thought Neji with an inner grin as he just managed to open the door to his "home," an apartment he used just for the purpose of luring food. He could see the glow of wonder spread across Tenten's face as he flipped on the light switch and they entered. It was always the same. The rooms were furnished luxuriously as, once again, money was not an issue to vampires. Everything, in fact, was especially tailored to fit the human female's ideal romantic getaway, complete with red velvet, satin sheets, and yes, those freaking candles again.

"Wow, I… I can't believe that…I-it's all so… so beautiful!" Tenten was stammering more than Neji's usual catch, but that was okay. He wasn't about to waste any time while she was still in a state of shock. Sauntering up close beside her, the man gently cupped her chin in his hand and spoke softly, "But not as beautiful as _you_." Contact. Once again she looked him straight in the eye and got woozy with a sudden flood of trust. Damn. He _hated_ using up all his energy like that, especially when he was about to pass out from starvation, but it had to be done.

"N…Neji, do you… really… think–––?" He cut her off with a sudden kiss that he could tell easily knocked the wind out of her. Oops. Looks like he was a little _too_ eager. But it was too late now.

Her eyes fluttered closed immediately, but she was slow to respond to the rapid movements of his lips, seemingly five steps behind him. Briefly the vampire wondered if this was her first time dong _anything_ with a man, but the thought was soon interrupted by her hands feeling uncertainly through his hair and her lips pushing harder against his. Quickly he brought his hand up to her neck as if to pull her closer, but in reality he was feeling her pulse. The name of the game was to arouse her enough so that her blood flowed faster and was therefore fresher and better tasting. The boy almost stopped mid-kiss in surprise. Her pulse was already double that of most of his victims at this stage, which immediately threw up an alarm in the man's head: she was inexperienced. Which, of course, meant that he had to be "gentle" and lead her through everything, and he wouldn't get to have any fun at all. Not that he could afford it at the moment anyway. He was so ravenous he would bite a screaming child at this point despite their revoltingly sweet blood (he blamed society for pumping them full of all that sugar).

"Mmmnhh…" Neji had already adjusted the girl so that he was kissing the nape of her neck while she pressed heatedly against a wall. Perfect. And yet… And yet he faltered, unable to finish. She _was_ just a virgin, after all. Did she really _deserve_ to have her pure body defiled by his filthy hands? It was almost, yes, just like that first time…

_NO_! Suddenly he squinted his eyes shut in pain. Yet it _was_ like that time, both of the them unsure, no one around… _Damn, no,_focus!

"I'm sorry," he murmured from behind the girl, his grip on her hips tightening.

"Wha–––?" She was cut short as his hair brushed against her skin then a pain, a pain unimaginable in the back of her neck. She screamed, but it was shortly turned into a whimpering moan as his tongue, hot and wet, grazed her skin.

"Wha… UNNNN… what…did you… do?" she managed, sweat dripping down her face.

"I'm sorry, but…" he nuzzled her neck and lapped slowly at it once more, sending shivers down her spine. "All that fresh blood pumping through your veins, flowing so close… I needed to have… a _taste_." He emphasized this with a sharp suck that caused her to squeak in pain.

"I…ugh…" Something was wrong with her head. It was pounding; her legs were weakening beneath her. Her knees suddenly gave way.

"Wha… What'd you do to me?" she gasped. The man smirked, supporting her against himself and lowering her to the ground where she slumped limply.

"Well, okay, it wasn't just a taste…" He licked his lips. "I might've taken more than necessary."

"You… What _are_ you?" Tenten could barely keep her eyes open, the pounding in her skull was increasing viciously, and everything in the room swam in dizzying waves. "Nej… Nej…" With that her eyelids dropped and she was out cold. He stood above her, cocking his head slightly as he wiped his chin roughly, red staining his pale fist. She was unconscious; that part was normal, but… He frowned. Something about how that had happened didn't feel right. He had taken so much, way more than he should have taken… It was like he couldn't stop until her head hit the floor. But he felt incredibly revived, and that was the important part.

Neji glanced at the woman's body for a moment, a soft look coming into his eyes. With unusual care, Neji wrapped Tenten in one of his coats and scooped her up gently, preparing to drop her off at some motel not too far from the bar they had met at. He wouldn't normally take pains for a mere mortal girl, and yet the way she had reminded him of that first time… The vampire sighed, shaking his head as he closed and locked the door to his apartment. There was something strange about this human that he just couldn't place…

**So! What did you think for the first chapter? A little vague, I know, but it's only the beginning. On another note, I have said it once, I will say it again: kids, the life choices of the characters are not necessarily ones you should choose. Just thought I'd put that out there. Next chapter will be Hinata's first hunt! What surprises lay in store for our little vampiress? Ah, I only half know! Until next chapter! Labbess**


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: AU

**Author's Note: **It. Has been. Forever. I know. I am SO sorry! A lot of things have been happening: business, American Idol (yes, I watched it, but mostly for Jason Castro and David Cook), more business, my comic, lack of inspiration, and overall deciding just how graphic I'm going to make the sexual content of this fic (I'm thinking of toning it down ALOT). I know theses aren't good excuses, but at the very least they're explanations. Also! Thank you so much for everyone's support! I'm glad so many of you seem to be interested so far! Well, enough of my blabbering… On to the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. If I did, nothing would get DONE apparently. ;.;

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"Please don't–––I–I didn't mean it, any of it! Just let me go!" Hinata was twisting feebly in the boy's hold, sweat pouring down her neck and face. "P–Please!"

"What? Can't back up what you said?" he grinned from behind her, his hold on her stomach tightening. The boy began to back towards the motel bed, dragging Hinata along with him.

"N–no, I…!" she gulped, trying not to panic, but she could feel his rough hands tugging her downwards, jerking at her shirt, her skirt…

"P-please, I'm begging you!" She was trying not to cry, to scream in frustration and terror, but she was at his mercy. What if he had an ice pick or holy water? She shivered, struggling even as he pushed her to her stomach on the comforter, shoving her face into the cheap motel fabric that smelled potently of other bodies and stale urine. He flipped her over suddenly but Hinata didn't waste the opportunity.

"Stop!" She lashed out at him, but he caught her arm and she could feel the heat of him digging at her clothing. This wasn't happening–––– this couldn't be happening! Hinata was frantic, screaming now.

"STOP! PLEASE, LET ME _GO_!" She was kicking, baring her fangs knowing full well it'd result in that bitter wolfish flavor of his blood. She didn't care––– she wouldn't be taken this way.

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_A few hours before_…

"Good luck, Hinata-sama!" The voices of the crowd that was her vampire family still rang loudly in Hinata's ears, even as she stood there stupidly on the street corner. They all had such faith in her, but now that she was actually out here, alone with only humans she wasn't so sure she would be able to pull this off.

A vampire's first prey was a big deal. It meant she had grown up (well, in vampire terms, anyways) and would be fit to take over after her father as the head of their clan. Hinata sighed as her leather boots crunched across the sidewalk, her short skirt riding up uncomfortably (why did clothes considered to be sexy have to be _so_ awkward?)Neji was much more suited to the position than she; he had the skills to order other people around and was far more experienced than she was. For instance: Neji would not have gotten lost in the heart of a large city on his first hunt. Hinata would. Actually, to be frank, Hinata _did_.

"Oh, no," Hinata groaned softly to herself, looking about her perplexed. Try as she might, however, the surrounding area remained completely foreign to her. This was not good. Finally, after standing in the middle of the abandoned sidewalk for what seemed like hours but was probably only moments, Hinata sat on the curve in order to get her bearings. That was when she saw him.

All her life Hinata had only been exposed to vampires; to be truthful, this was the first time she had been out in the "real world" in her entire life. Even when she was being taught about humans there were only drawings and simulations, never a living, breathing human in her midst (if there had been, they probably would not have lasted very long). But this boy! Oh, Hinata felt it immediately, somewhere inside of her she knew that he was different, unlike any other human she would ever meet. That beautiful halo of golden hair, those sweet blue eyes, the way he had just passed through the door of the psychic shop without even opening it… Wait a minute. Hinata blinked her white eyes, frowning slightly. She was pretty sure humans had to open doors in order to get through them.

Well, at any rate, before she knew what she was doing the poor vampire princess found herself in front of the shop, very red in the face and stammering some sort of excuse to the boy who seemed somewhat amused at her flustered attitude.

"…a-and, you s-see, I was just––– I mean, I w-was just… I mean…" And suddenly she came to a halting stop, unable to get another word out because she was looking _right into_ his gorgeous azure eyes. Apparently unaware of the effect he was having the boy smirked, causing Hinata to stumble on the verge of passing out.

"What club was it you said you were looking for?" He asked at last, cocking his head to the side. Hinata gulped. Hard.

"…O-O… Orchid L-Lounge…" she managed at last, quickly and half-mumbled. The boy's face lit up with a knowing look as he nodded shortly.

"Right, I know that place. Nice scene. Do you know where Kiwi Street is?" Hinata shook her head in embarrassment.

"…I…I-I'm afraid I d-don't know v-very much ab-bout this area of the c-city…"

"I see…" The boy paused, scratching his blonde hair thoughtfully. "Hey, y'know what? I'm done with work anyways. Why don't I just show you? A girl like you shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night anyways." And just so Hinata could stop breathing he flashed her a brilliant grin. Hinata thought she would run away at any moment from too much stimulation, but she didn't dare say anything as they set out.

_This boy… I don't understand what's going on_, Hinata thought to herself, her mind in an unusual fog as she automatically moved across the concrete. _I can't even _think_ of him as food_. _I just don't understand_…

"Well, here we are." Hinata nearly gasped as she was snapped from her reverie. So soon? But there was the club's name lit up in neon orange lights right before her and the sound of music blasting from the darkened interior.

"…s-so we are…" Hinata sighed softly. She did not want to leave this beautiful boy who caused her to feel so, well, so _happy_ but she couldn't possibly detain him for longer than necessary; how could she ever find the words to express such a wish?

"Well, I guess that's my cue to go," her companion said at last after a minute of nervous shuffling from Hinata.

"…um, y-yes…" But he was already turning to go, leaving her behind. The first human she had ever met, her first… Hinata blinked stupidly. Her first _what_? What was this feeling? She still didn't have the words to explain what was going on inside of her. And yet… and yet she recognized that it was a glimmer of something special.

"Um–– e-excuse me!" And that's why, with one mighty gathering of all her courage, Hinata called out to the stranger. He turned, a look of mild curiosity on his face.

"Yes?" Hinata could feel a strange darkness gathering in the corners of her eyes, but she fought for control; she wouldn't use all of her courage of nothing.

"I–I… I didn't catch your name…" For a moment there was what felt like complete and utter silence.

"Naruto," the boy replied at last. "And you?"

"H-H-Hinata." Her courage was waning fast, probably because she hadn't eaten in a while.

"Well, Hinata, it was cool. If you ever get time come see me sometime at Madame Haruno's psychic shop, okay?" Hinata wasn't sure what she said in response, especially after he gave her one last grin to remember him by. The rest was a blur; all she knew was the next moment she was inside of the club with masses of sweaty, dancing humans, a load of adrenaline, and a ravenous appetite.

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"Hey, are you all right?"

"Neji-kun?"

"Neji-kun, say something."

"What?" The said man looked about him dizzily, trying to understand why the room kept tilting. "Wha… what did you say?"

"I asked if you were all right." One of Neji's close relatives was bending over him worriedly.

"Y…yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." The relative frowned.

"You? Didn't you just go out?" A pause, as if remembering something. "You know, Hiashi-sama was angry that you weren't there to see Hinata-sama off."

"Yeah, I… I know…" Neji wiped beads of sweat from his brow as he stumbled to the room where his coffin lay. Which way was it again? Agh, why was everything so foggy?

"Tell him…" Neji mumbled, his words slurring stupidly. "Tell him I… not to…" But before he could finish his sentence Neji had collapsed into his coffin and was out cold.

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He was scruffy-looking, brown-haired and wild, yet something about the particular human caught Hinata's attention across the dimly lit room. Was it that he reminded her ever so slightly of Naruto with that cocky grin, a playful look in his eye? Not to mention this one seemed to have a nicely toned body to boot. Whatever it was, Hinata had already decided by the time she leaned against the wall–––showing a little thigh and catching his mischievous glance–––that he was going to be her first prey.

"Hey, baby," the boy grinned, his teeth sharp and fang-y, not entirely unlike her own. This was startling, to say the least. But Hinata would have known another vampire; their kind tended to keep to themselves and the Uchiha and Hyuuga were the only ones for several hundreds of miles. Heart racing, the girl bravely stepped up, wrapped her arms around the boy's neck and planted a firm kiss on his lips. She felt breathless and wanted to pass out from the shock of knowing she had actually pulled it off, but instead stared her companion down with half-lidded eyes. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Hey, yourself." His smile spread again.

"Aggressive lil' thing, aren't you?" She smiled shyly, lowering her pale gaze slightly. "You keep that up all night and we just might get along." He leaned in, resting against the wall with her.

"I'm Hinata," the vampiress offered with an elated giggle. This seduction things wasn't so bad once you got over yourself. She just had to think of him as her entrée… She licked her lips in anticipation, eliciting another quirked eyebrow from the brunette.

"I'm In––" He stopped and coughed. "Kiba." _Fang_, she thought with an inner smirk. _It certainly suits him_.

"S… so what do say you and me find somewhere and, uh, get to know each other?" Hinata tried not to squeak the remark, hoping Kiba didn't notice. Worst-case scenario she would have to use her Byakugan, but Hinata wondered if she even had enough energy for that; she had not built a tolerance for her thirst for blood yet, and so she was weakening fast.

"Damn, you really _are_ aggressive." He smirked. "I won't have to pay you or nothing, will I?" Hinata chuckled light-headedly.

"In a way, I suppose…"

"Good enough for me."

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"Let me _go_!" Now, back in the present, Hinata was struggling to escape. Someone–– anyone! "NARUTO-SAN!" No, what would he care? He barely knew him. Kiba's grip grew tighter and his grin widened at the name.

"Calling me names does nothing, sweetheart." Her skirt was slipping off; she could feel the end of it dipping past her knees. He was so much _stronger_ than her!

"Ne––!" He was touching her, rough and mercilessly, shoving at her in sweaty gasps. "N––Ne––NEJI-NII!"

"Please, like I–––" Kiba stopped suddenly, his frown narrowing as the name clicked. "Neji…" He pushed himself off of her to Hinata's relief, hunched over her like an animal but allowing her at least to breathe.

"You're a _Hyuuga_…" His wild brown eyes met hers, but instead of the feral desire that had been clouding them ever since he had managed to pull her into the room there was a hint of fear. "Neji…-nii? " He groaned, a noise embodying frustration and defeat. "_Damn it_, he's your _brother_?"

"M-my… H-h-he's m-my cousin," Hinata squeaked, wiping away a stray tear as she tried to figure out what had just happened. The close relation seemed enough to still shake the male, who had promptly left her side and was standing a good ways across the room from her, pacing.

"Damn it, that means you're _royalty_ then…" He shook his head, paused, and then growled severely at a nightstand, knocking it over in a swift motion of rage. "Of course you are, of course the frick you are… Couldn't be a low level vampire, had to be freaking royalty…" He turned to look at the vampiress now as if seeing her for the first time.

"Do you know what I am?" he asked blankly. Hinata frowned.

"Y-you said… you were Kiba…" she murmured, confusedly adjusting her clothing.

"Yeah, but do you know _what_ I am?" He asked. "Come on, I know you tasted it when you tried to eat me earlier…" A wolfish flavor to his blood. Fangs. The ease with which he had leapt upon her false offer of sex. Suddenly, Hinata realized what she had done.

"You're… y-you're a _werewolf_!" She gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. Kiba couldn't help but smirk at the innocence the girl displayed.

"Yeah… The Inuzuka clan, actually." Oh, why hadn't she seen it before? Hinata suddenly felt sick to her stomach, and not just because she was basically running on the last reserves of blood in her body. Vampires and werewolves had been legendary enemies for eons and the Hyuuga and Inuzuka were the fiercest adversaries of all; just the fact that she had been in the same club as one _alone_ could land Hinata in a lot of trouble. Now she realized, in horror, that actually _seducing_ Kiba could mean both of their lives. After all, they had both just violated an incredibly shaky pact between their separate clans; who _knew_ what kind of war could spring up? Hinata felt like crying.

"It doesn't help that we're both at our weakest points…" Kiba sighed, and for the first time Hinata could see that he was painfully holding back that feral look she had seen in his eyes. It was true, then. She was almost on the brink of being half-crazed for want of blood, while he was in desperate need of relieving his sexual urges. Hinata glanced out the window near the bed just to be sure. Yes, the moon was indeed nearing full.

"You need food." Hinata looked up, startled from her thoughts. She nodded.

"I'll be back. We have a little bit before sunrise, so you should be okay in here…" Kiba paused, clenching his teeth.

"I…I-I'm sorry…" Hinata muttered into the silence.

"_You're_ sorry? For what? I nearly freaking _raped_ you, don't you get that?" His voice was fraught with an embarrassed guilt, as if her apology alone could hurt him more than a silver bullet.

"Y–yes, but you wouldn't have I-if I hadn't… If I hadn't sounded like I…"

"Damn it, woman, it's not your _fault_!" Kiba growled. "Stop blaming yourself!" He paused, realizing the pitch of his voice.

"Look, just don't say anything or both our asses are gonna get killed, okay?" he asked a little more softly. "You're so damn _naïve_…" Hinata lay back on the bed then as the boy clicked the door shut behind him, taking care to lock with the key. Not that she needed it; any normal human who walked into the room wouldn't be able to harm her very much, even when she was so in need of blood. In fact, it probably would have been better if he had left it open. Oh, she was in a terrible mess… Hinata shook her head, unable to grasp just how much she had done.

"Oh, Naruto-san…" she whispered, closing her eye and imagining his beautiful face floating before her. Surely _he_ would understand? Yes, Hinata was certain of it; the next chance she got she would visit him at the psychic shop he had mentioned.

Meanwhile, Kiba was rushing off from the motel as quickly as possible.

"Akamaru!" he yelled into the night. "Oi, Akamaru! Get your ass out here!" In the next minute a white dog had appeared at his feet.

_Kiba! You called?_

"Yeah, where the hell _were_ you?" the werewolf asked gruffly.

_Well, you were heading off with that _girl_ so I assumed that meant, "get lost_,_" _he barked, then added mischievously, _So how was she_?

"She's a freaking vampire princess."

_What_? Akamaru nearly stopped in his tracks, which would have been a bad idea at the rate Kiba was running. _She's… I mean, so what are you going to do_?

"Well, for one, I need to find a guy and knock him out. She looks pretty damn hungry," Kiba replied quickly. "But first, I'm going to find the nearest whorehouse… Or even just the nearest thing vaguely female at this point…" Akamaru whined.

_So I still don't get it, Kiba. Why not just leave her for dead_? _Y'know, throw her in the river after you're done with her; no one'll catch your scent that way_.

"You know what?" Kiba snarled, clearly annoyed. "I think maybe I should throw _you_ in the river first." To be honest, everything Akamaru had said had occurred to Kiba. It was the logical thing to do, after all. With Hinata still alive, there was still the chance he could receive all the blame for this; she still had his scent on her in the end. But here was something that wouldn't let him, something that was holding him back. And so, just for tonight at least, he would rebel against his animalistic nature and protect this stupid and incredibly naive vampire princess. Just for tonight.

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**I'm so sorry, again, that it took me so long to get this stupid thing out to you guys. But it was the reviews that really encouraged me, so don't forget to tell me what you think! Next chapter we find out just what exactly is wrong with Neji. Until then! –Labbess**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **LOL HAI GUYZ! 8D …yeah, that doesn't work for me either. Wow, I feel weird updating so soon, but I've pretty much got a lot of pre-written stuff I can use now, so the updates will come a little faster (plus, I have the beautiful gift called TIME!) Thank you so much for your reviews and support! :3 Also, please forgive me in advance for any grotesque grammar and spelling mistakes; I really don't know they're there!

**Disclaimer: **In Soviet Russia, Naruto does not own_ me_! (Actually, that's kinda true everywhere)

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_"Neji…" A hand brushes his face, and for a second he wants to lie there forever, his lips to her palm…no. He can't._

_"Neji, what's wrong_?_" A concerned look met with a pained sigh. _

_"You're not real…"_

_"Oh, Neji, what _is_ reality_?_"_

_"No, you're not here, I'm not with you, you're not _real…_" Words choked back to a whisper. "You're…"_

_"Neji…" Eyes lock, heart beat quickening. He wants to stay right here, right by her side. "Neji, I love you…"_

"_Don't say that, you're not _real!_"_

_"Neji, I'm still alive."_

"What?" And just like that everything became solid and dark, and Neji realized he was sprawled uncomfortably in his stone cold coffin.

"Neji-nii! You're awake!" Neji rubbed his head groggily, searching for the direction of the voice. In the next instant none other than Hinata was by his side, her eyes wide with fright.

"Neji-nii, I heard that there was something wrong, and when you didn't wake up I was so worried…!"

"Hinata…?" Neji sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What day is it? How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days, Neji-nii."

"Holy–––!" Neji gazed around him in shock as if he might still be asleep even then. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Somebody said it was bad blood. I…is that what it was, Neji-nii? Bad blood?" Normally Neji would tell Hinata to piss off without a second thought, but right now… well, right now when he was so confused and worried her innocent face and voice were somewhat of a comfort. He hesitated, then loosely patted her on the head.

"Yeah, it was just bad blood…" he murmured, trying his best to give her a reassuring smile, though it looked more like a grimace.

"Oh, okay." She grinned hopefully. "I was worried."

"So you told me," Neji said, lying back in his coffin. _All just a dream. Just a damn dream. I was right_.

_"I'm still alive."_ Neji frowned as the voice suddenly echoed in his head.

_You're such a damn liar_.

"Neji-nii…?"

"So how was it?" Neji asked suddenly, shaking free the last remnants of his dream. "Your hunt, I mean. "

"Oh! It was… it was, um… It was nice." Hinata fidgeted, looking at anything but her cousin. The man's gaze narrowed suddenly.

"Nice?"

"Ah, yes, well… Yes. It was nice." Had the vampire princess not tailed Neji constantly he would have never thought differently about what was coming out of her mouth. But she _did_ tail Neji constantly, and because of this Neji knew that even the smallest new discovery could send Hinata into dizzying fits of stammering talkativeness for days on end. So saying, he wasn't falling for her bull crap for a single second.

"Hinata…" The girl gasped guiltily as Neji's warning tone reached her ears.

"Y…yes, Neji-nii?"

"What exactly did you _do_…?" He turned his head, looking her straight in the eyes. Hinata panicked, trying to look away.

"Th–that's not fair! You're older than I am!" Hinata squeaked in protest.

"Age has nothing to do with it," Neji smirked darkly, then added in a whisper, "_Byakugan_." Hinata relaxed instantaneously.

"Now, let's try this again. Hinata, what exactly did you do on your hunt that you're trying so _very_ hard to keep a secret?"

"I…I…" Neji stared at her harder. Damn, it normally worked the first time. The weakness probably had something to do with that itching craving for a particular blood he had at the forefront of his mind. Wait a minute, a craving after only three days? What the hell? And since when did he crave a _particular_ kind of blood? This wasn't making any kind of sense.

"Neji-nii…" His thoughts were immediately brought back to the girl he barely had in his power at the moment.

"Hinata, _tell_ me…"

"Neji-nii, n-no, you can't…!" But in an instant the girl lost all control. "I seduced Kiba, a werewolf of the Inuzuka clan, and I let him live. In exchange for not revealing his name, he's been secretly giving me information every night on a human boy named Naruto whom I think I might be in love with."

"You _what_!" Neji immediately let go of his control in his sudden rage.

"Neji-nii, p-p-please don't t-tell anyone!" Hinata cried suddenly, looking terrified as she glanced about the deserted room.

"Like _hell_ I won't tell anyone!" Neji hissed, his eyes flashing with anger. "Do you have _any_ idea what you've done to this clan? To the vampire race in general?"

"Neji-nii, p-please…!" She was crying now, soft sobs of pure horror at what might happen to her. "P-please… Just wait until two days!"

"What?" Neji paused in his rage. "Why?"

"B-because… because then I can go see Naruto-san… Then daddy will let me go out… Please… T-two more days…" She was trembling, of course, but Neji had to admire her bravery, if only barely. He sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Hinata, do I need to explain to you that not only have you endangered the future of the vampire race in general, but that now you're also disobeying rule #1 of being a Hyuuga?" He tried to control his frustration and disgust, but her sad, pathetically teary eyes weren't helping. "Do you even _know_ rule #1?"

"Humans… are food. Nothing more," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

"_Yes_, that is _exactly_ it. Nothing. More."

"But _why_, Neji-nii? I know I love him. I know if only I could get close to him, I'm sure he'd understand–––"

"He'd understand what? That you prey on his kind at night? That any one of his relatives could just be another one of your victims at any given moment? That you could easily hospitalize someone he's close to if you're particularly hungry?" Neji glowered at a bookcase, not even looking at the girl now.

"B-but, I–––"

"Hinata, the werewolf thing makes you a disgrace to the family and a threat to our existence, but falling in love with a human?" Neji spat the words with hatred. "That's just _asking_ for pain. Personally, I don't think you could ever live with that."

"S-so… Are you still going to tell daddy?" Hinata asked quietly. She looked at her cousin carefully. Was he… blushing? No, that wasn't possible… Unless… unless what he was saying was actually–––

"No. I won't tell him," Neji said suddenly, heading for the door quickly. "But I don't want you anywhere near that werewolf ever again, you understand?"

"Y… yes, Neji-nii."

"I want you to swear it… swear it on that." Neji pointed at the Greek cross around her neck, the one that matched his, the symbol of their clan. Hinata nodded solemnly, and with that Neji was out the door.

_Damn it. Why the hell did I say a thing like _that, _especially in front of Hinata_? _It's a good thing_ _she's stupid_, Neji thought as he maneuvered his way down the long corridor. _Damn that werewolf. Damn her and that stupid boy. Damn all humans everywhere. _

_"Neji, I'm still alive."_

_And most of all, damn _you.

Suddenly, Neji's craving flared dramatically.

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_Kiba, the moon'll be full in two days._

"I know."

_So what are you going to do about _her? Kiba looked down suddenly at the puppy at his feet.

"What do you mean, what'm I gonna do about _her_?"

_Well, you know… You'll be in your animal form…_Akamaru yipped, cocking his head hesitantly to the side. _And you know, werewolves and vampires_…

"She already _knows_, dumb ass. I've got it all under control." There was a thick silence as Kiba watched the sun finally dip below the horizon on his rooftop perch. With the sun gone, the city could shine in its full brilliance, a thing that made Kiba smirk with appreciation. He loved the city; every dirty alley, noisy car, smelly apartment, sweaty club, he loved it all. From beside the boy, Akamaru's whine invaded his thoughts.

Akamaru. Sometimes Kiba wished he had never rescued the abandoned puppy. After all, he had a reputation to uphold, and having an adoring puppy follow you everywhere wasn't exactly something that helped that cause. And yet there were times when he was useful, like spying or crawling into small spaces to reach valuable objects. Or just having someone _there_. Unfortunately for Kiba, now was _not_ one of those moments.

_I think you like her, Kiba_. The boy flinched visibly.

"What the hell did you just say?" He growled, baring his wolfish fangs.

_I–I mean, I'm just sayin'…_ Akamaru whimpered, sinking into himself protectively. _Why're you doin' all this stuff for her anyways_?

"Because I _want_ to, that's why." Kiba thought for a moment. "And she knows my name." Akamaru ignored this.

_But you never_ want _to do anything for girls_. To_ them, maybe, but never _for_ them_.

"Look, this is the most horny time of the month for me, and I didn't even screw her when I had the chance. Does that sound like I like her?"

_She's the one girl you've met more than once that you've done that for. Well, other than your mom and your sister. A-and you get all happy when you get to tell her news about that guy she likes. Not to mention you get all pissy whenever we spy on hi–––_

"Well, would you look at that," Kiba interrupted, his teeth clicking together in an evil grin.

_Wh… look at what_? Akamaru barked in confusion.

"I mean, look how high _up_ we are. Guess they don't call them skyscrapers for nothing." Akamaru gulped.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry––– I–I'll never say it again_! _Just forget I said anything_!

"Damn straight," Kiba snorted, then added. "Come on, let's go. We've got to get up early to watch that stupid kid tomorrow."

_Coming_!

Kiba's eyes narrowed as he thought about what Akamaru had said. All right, so he was a little jealous. No, not jealous, just… protective. Yeah. Protective. There was something strange about that Naruto kid anyways––– Kiba wouldn't want him injuring his one way into destroying his clan's enemies, would he? Definitely not.

"Besides, vampires hate werewolves. It would never work out," Kiba muttered aloud. Akamaru looked up.

_What'd you say, Kiba_? The boy nearly blushed but caught himself at the last second.

"I…I said _keep walking_, mutt. You're lagging behind."

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_Shino better be right about this_, Neji thought as stood on the steps of the building. _What a complete dump_.

Although Neji was never quite sure about his motives, he _knew_ he could trust the directions of the mysterious man who went by the name of "Shino." The two had met a while back when Neji had saved a cockroach friend of Shino's from being stepped on at a bar (to this day, Neji is still uncertain as to why he did it). At any rate, Shino had owed him one, and after discovering this favor came in the form of knowing where to find anyone and anything in the city and even getting a _key_ to that anyone or anything, well… How could he think Shino was _un_reliable?

_Well, here goes nothing_, Neji thought to himself as he opened the front door and climbed the strangely stained stairs. When at last he stood in front of the door, he double-checked everything in his head. _Apartment 314. Midnight. She'll be there._ Well, he was here, and he hoped Shino telling him to wait for hours before seeking his quarry wasn't the man's form of a practical joke. Neji waited a few moments more, listening for noises within. Nothing. Stealthily he unlocked the door, and carefully, carefully turned the knob. Then he gently pushed the door open.

Of course, it let out a piercing screech on its hinges. Neji froze, certain that not only had he woken the person within, but that he had also woken everyone in the building, and the dead as well. Yet still, nothing. After five long minutes of not moving a muscle in the shadows, the man finally crept inside. He didn't dare close the door behind him.

_Now would be a really good time to have those stupid candles form back home_, Neji thought, wondering for a moment why even his thoughts sounded like whispers, as if the person he was looking for could read his mind.

"Ow!" Neji hissed quietly without warning as he stubbed his toe on a small, pointed object. With disgust, the man suddenly realized the floors were littered with clothes, food, and nauseating amounts of trash. This had to be a joke; nobody but a pig could live here.

At last the vampire reached the bedroom, which, thankfully, had the door already wide open. It took him a second to reach the bed, but thanks to his previous experience in the other rooms he managed to avoid hitting anything.

_It smells in here_, Neji thought with a sour look. But something stopped his brain from insulting his surroundings further as he had reached the bed. Neji paused to study the woman, feeling a strange emotion come over him. An almost… longing, a hint of nostalgia. The sleeping form of a woman, the way this woman's hair fell over her shoulders, the sunglasses she wore snuggly over her face––– Wait a minute, since when did humans wear sunglasses to bed?

Suddenly the woman leapt out from under the covers, and before Neji could blink she had whipped out a wooden cross from her bedside table.

"Ha!" She shouted in triumph, waving the piece wildly at him. "Back, back! I've got a cross, and I'm not afraid to use it!" Neji raised an eyebrow, more weirded out than scared as he leaned just out of reach lest he get clocked in the head.

"Sorry, I'm not particularly religious. Undead and all," he commented evenly, wondering if she had even taken a moment to notice the cross around his neck. The woman finally began to let up once she realized that it wasn't working, but she didn't seem to be out of tricks.

"Well, at least I have… GARLIC!" Neji all of a sudden found a small white lump hurtling towards his face and hitting him square between the eyes.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he snapped, rubbing his face in irritation but appearing otherwise unaffected. The girl's eyes widened as she observed this and she took a startled step back.

"I…it's not working?" She managed, gulping hard.

"If by 'working' you mean pissing me off, then yes, it is," the vampire growled. His companion shook her head in confusion.

"But… but everyone knows that…" She shook her head again, then paused to glare at him as realization dawned on her. "How the hell did you get into my house to begin with?" Neji snorted.

"You call this garbage dump a _house_? I've seen rats' nests cleaner than this." That did it. A loud _smack_! resounded as the wooden cross struck his temple. Hard.

"_OW!_"

"How _dare_ you break into my house and then _insult it_ you freak of nature!" she growled loudly, crossing her arms.

"At least I don't live in a pigsty," Neji couldn't help but hiss.

"At least I don't prey on poor, lonely women at night!"

"I…" Neji stopped, shaking his head. "Why are you even still up? I was told you would be asleep by now."

"Because I knew you'd come back and try to eat me, that's why! And I was prepared this time." She pointed at him for emphasis, and it was then Neji could see the leather archery gloves. Great. So if he managed to get the cross away from her, she could still hurt him with a single smack.

"Let's get something straight, Tenten…" Neji paused, wondering why he had felt the need to call her by name. He didn't even like calling his own relatives by name, lest a completely strange woman. "I don't eat people, I suck their blood–––"

"Same difference," Tenten shrugged.

"No, it's not. And another thing," Neji snorted, crossing his arms as well. "I don't know what fairy tale you're getting your vampire repellent from, but those are the most ridiculous ideas I have ever heard. Honestly, garlic? What, am I supposed to be terribly afraid of bad breath?"

"I didn't _get_ them from a fairy tale, I got them from a book I stole from my employer." Tenten paused. "Well, ex-employer."

"Wonder why they fired you," Neji muttered sarcastically. "Let me see it." The woman handed over the large, dusty looking tome without a second thought.

"No wonder, this thing is centuries old," he snorted, tossing it carelessly behind him. "'Vampires' being spelt with a 'y' should have clued you in." Suddenly, Neji's eyes flashed; his craving for blood had tripled.

"Guh!" He bent over slightly, breathing heavily. _Well _that's_ inconvenient_…

"Wha––– what's wrong with _you_?" Tenten asked hesitantly, still gripping the wooden cross tightly in case he should decide to attack her.

"I… I have to go…" Neji murmured, very aware all of a sudden of how stupid he had been to come here, to find this woman again. He needed to leave, _now_.

"Take me with you." Oh, for crying out loud.

"No, I can't," the vampire replied coldly, stumbling for the door.

"Why not?" Tenten asked, crossing her arms once more in apparent annoyance. "You break into my house after drinking my blood, and now you don't even have the courtesy to take me with you? What kind of jerks _are_ vampires? I mean, you were all nice to me and stuff _before_ I knew what you were–––" Neji shook his head.

"No, you don't understand. It was a mistake for me to come here; I wasn't thinking clearly. Besides which, you wouldn't survive a second with me."

"Well, I sure as heck won't survive _here_." Neji turned to look the woman in the face, and it suddenly dawned on him why she had the sunglasses on. So she wasn't as dumb as he had thought she was; she had figured out about the Byakugan.

"And just why not?" he snarled, his patience growing ever thinner.

"Because…" Tenten bit her lip, squeezing the cross tighter in her sweaty palm. "Because I don't have any money, I don't have a job, I'm going to get evicted from my apartment soon, and my only friend just betrayed me a few days ago. I don't have anywhere to go; I don't have friends, I don't have family, I don't have _anything_!"

"And why exactly is this _my_ problem?" Neji growled as he leaned against the doorway.

"Because you came _back_ for me," Tenten managed, a stray tear dropping from her eye. "I mean, even if it _was_ to suck my blood, at… at least I know I'm still alive!"

"What–– What did you say?" Neji's eye widened in shock, unsure of what had just reached his ears.

"I said even if it _was_ to suck my blood–––"

"No, not that… Oh, never mind." He couldn't think anymore. It was too late for him to even try to escape now; just being this close, seeing her veins just within reach… He had to make some compromises now, and _fast._

"Look, I'll take you with me if it'll get you to shut up," Neji hissed, grabbing her waist forcefully with one hand and taking hold of her shoulder with the other. Of course, things couldn't be that easy.

"Promise me," Tenten frowned, struggling against his hold. Neji was growing desperate.

"Fine."

"Say it, say you promise!" Why, why did it have to be _this_ woman?

"_Yes,_ I promise," Neji growled, his patience officially worn away. "Now hold _still_." And with one motion the man's thirst for that _particular _blood was quenched as he sank his fangs yet again into her pale skin, staining it red. In an instant he could feel relief flood his body.

But something, something still didn't feel right. It could have had something to do with the way her blood burned as it went down, just slightly, in a way he had experienced only once before. Or the way she had been able to figure out about the Byakugan after only two uses, which was unheard of. Either way, Neji got the feeling he had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. And, of course, he was right.

**Okay, so I realize that a lot of this is exposition so far––– I'm sorry! I really have to split up the chapters this way; it helps me organize the characters. Next chapter we get to figure out what exactly is so strange about Naruto, and maybe actually get some plot in! Please continue to tell me what you think until then! :D -Labbess**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **I know, I know. I procrastinated, I lied, I put this off as much as I could. But in my defense, the way I write is kind of sporadic and not always in order, so I was pretty much at a fuzzy patch where I didn't necessarily know how to connect it to what I'd already written. Anyways, please forgive me for the delay, and don't forget to review at the end of the story, please :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto... well, I do, but I'm letting Kishimoto _borrow_ it for a while X3

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"Uchiha, you bastard, you better not be lying to me." Neji gripped the phone tighter in his hand, glancing briefly outside of his office to see if his outburst had disturbed a certain someone. Luckily, there was no movement. On the other end he heard a sigh of impatience and could almost see the man roll his eyes in disgust.

"Look, Hyuuga. You came to me with your problem, this is what I'm telling you it has to be. There's no other explanation," Uchiha Sasuke said simply, a noticeable edge to his voice.

"Well--- Isn't there anything we can do about it?" Neji's frown deepened.

"Why, does it matter?" Sasuke snorted. "You bit her once, get rid of her. Then your symptoms should go away. Isn't that how you vampires work anyways?" There was a brief silence while Neji debated on his next move. Then he sighed. He really had no choice, given the gravity of the matter.

"Actually..." He paused, checking outside of the office once more. When the coast remained clear, he locked the door again.

"Actually, what?"

"I... lied. I didn't just bite her once. I bit her a second time." His words were short and clipped, evidence of his anxiety.

"You... you _what_?" Ah, so that sound on the other end had probably been Sasuke's jaw dropping after all.

"It was an accident!" Neji insisted, feeling flustered that he felt the need to justify his actions like a child.

"Hyuuga, are you seriously trying to tell me that your fangs _accidentally_ pierced her neck and you _accidentally_ drank her blood a _second _time?"

"Uchiha---"

"For the love of frick, Hyuuga, why did you do _that_?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could maybe figure that out!"

"Like hell I can..." Suddenly there was a thick silence, and Neji fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Another sigh.

"So... Can you do anything?"

"What, like go 'poof' and expect her powers to go away? Not likely."

"Uchiha, I'm _serious_."

"So am I." Pause. "Well... it looks like what we need to do is remove any trace of the powers immediately. Supress them. As soon as that happens, you can drink her dry all you want."

"Can you do that?" Neji purposefully ignored the dig.

"Me? No. But I know who can. She'll be busy until tomorrow, though."

"Fine, fine, just get here as soon as possible. You know the address?"

"Of course. And Neji?"

"What?"

"Have fun getting burned to death in the meantime." _Click_! Neji glared at the phone before hitting the "end" button. That _bastard_! Where did some people get off with their freaking superior attitudes and snide comments?

"Oh, _finally_! I thought you would never come out of there!" Tenten exclaimed as soon as Neji emerged from his office, staring expectantly from where she stood next to the refrigerator. "I'm starving. Did you know that there was _nothing_ in this fridge but wine and chocolate?"

"I was vaguely aware of that, yes," he responded testily, not seeing the problem. Noticing this, Tenten continued.

"Dude, that's not enough for a _bird_ to live off of." Neji was about to comment on the use of the word "dude" when suddenly he realized something.

"Wait a minute, did you just say there _was _nothing but wine and chocolate?" The woman blinked.

"Well, I don't like to drink too often, so the wine's still there," she offered, but before she could finish Neji had raced to the fridge and flung the door back.

"You _ate_ all that chocolate?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

"Well, _yeah_. What, did you expect me to starve?"

"Do you have any idea how expensive all that was?" He growled. "I was saving that for emergencies!"

"For what, the women with low blood sugar?" Tenten retorted.

"It's none of your business why I had it!" The vampire slammed the refrigerator door shut and turned to his companion, trying his best not to allow the gruesome images of her untimely death fill his mind, or at least prevent them from getting too creative. That's when Neji actually stopped to look at Tenten. Sasuke _had_ to be wrong; there just had to be some other explanation for the burning he had felt when he had drunk her blood last night. Weren't priestesses supposed to be beautiful at the very least?

"What?" Tenten asked finally, seeming very uncomfortable. "Why are you staring at me like that? You can't possibly want to suck my blood _already_. I'm about to die of starvation as it is!" Neji shook his head to clear it then, blinking a little. The universe must really hate him. Hadn't it been pounded into him as a child never to bite someone twice, lest you become addicted to their blood? And then, never, _never_ bite a priestess, because their holy blood would burn you? And now he had gone and done _both, _apparently. And to make matters worse, she wasn't even pleasant to be around. Yet... He snorted. Whatever. The sooner he found a cure the better.

"What the hell do you want to eat, then?" he sighed, knowing full well that as long as he stayed addicted to her blood he needed to keep her alive. What an inconvenience. Briefly Neji wondered why her powers couldn't have just started to surface when he had bitten her the first time. That would have made everything so much damn _easier _to avoid! Then again, perhaps his unholy bite had been just the thing to awaken her dormant powers in the first place... _And around in thought circles I go_.

"Um..." Tenten tapped her cheek with her index finger thoughtfully. "Well, I love Chinese food." Neji's lip twitched slightly.

"You're asking me to waste my money on _carry-out_?"

"No, no, see, there's this really good restaurant I go to a lot, and they have the best---"

"It's freaking _daytime_ right now! There is no way in hell I'm going out there!" Tenten's speech came to a sudden halt.

"What? Why not?"

"It's..." Neji paused, rolling his eyes. The less she knew, the better. "Nevermind. I'm not going out there right now."

"Well, you don't have to come _with_ me, then," she pouted, folding her arms. That was true. But then, did Neji really want his current drug walking around and attracting all sorts of dangers left and right?

"You're not going," he decided at last, opening one of his cabinets.

"What? _Why_?" _You're kidding me; she's _whining? _How old does this woman think she is?_

"Because I said so," Neji said simply, pulling a jar out at last from one of the otherwise empty shelves. "Here. Eat this."

"...peanut butter?" She raised an eyebrow as she eyed the peanut butter jar in front of her. It didn't seem like it had been opened, but still...

"Look, you're the one who's starving." Tenten made a face, but shortly after began to dig around in the drawers for a spoon. At this rate, she'd have probably been better off alone. Oh, well. At the very least she had an excuse to eat a whole jar of peanut butter by herself.

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"So," Tenten said one day later as she propped herself on her elbows on Neji's bed, the pink Oriental shirt falling away slightly from the mark of his fangs. Neji gulped just looking at it--- _why the hell am I being turned on by her? _He got the feeling that it probably had something to do with not having been with a woman in a while... and those stupid dreams he kept having. Damn all those hours spent sleeping! He couldn't understand it.

"So?" He grumbled, fingering the metallic cross that was the symbol of his clan. It felt cool and familiar on his skin, countering the heat he could feel blossom as Tenten ran a hand through her brown bangs, creasing the pink shirt. She still wore those damn archery gloves, he noticed.

"So, do you turn into a wolf or something?" Well talk about "cooling your ardor." Neji could barely speak at this unimaginable insult.

"What do I look like, a werewolf?" The man spat, face screwing into a frown. Her feet swung aimlessly in the air as she laid on her crossed arms.

"Well, Dracula does," she mumbled.

"Well, I am _not_ Dracula!" he growled, folding his arms, his glare piercing ice. "Don't _ever_ mention that name again."

"Why not?" He watched her from the corner of his eyes, now upside-down on the bed. She looked perfectly at home even around him, the one who had practically drained her of blood not once but twice. He blushed slightly, his frown deepening.

"Because," he said slowly. "Because I _said_ so."

"Uh-huh." Tenten paused to bite on her thumbnail. He wished Sasuke would show up already with that woman. Suddenly Neji turned and snapped a pen out of the air seconds before it hit him in the head. Tenten sat up, smirking, eyes wide with that childish excitement she carried.

"Nice catch, Dracula," she smiled. That was _it_. Neji had lost his patience--- not only was he stuck with this stupid woman, getting a freaking hard-on at every damn annoying thing she did, she was _mocking _him. With that name! Neji was certainly _not_ going to take this. He forced her onto her back before she could say a word.

"Whoa, Neji! Look, I was just---" He cut her off as he pushed his mouth to hers, wincing slightly as a pain, a burning bloomed in his lips. So it really was true; all of her power was surfacing. Well, if Sasuke did his job then it would soon be suppressed.

"Nngh!" He nuzzled slightly at her neck, but his gentleness lasted shortly as the pain lit there, too. If he closed his eyes, ignored the sound of her voice, then... Yes. He could almost imagine that it was _her_. He trailed kisses down Tenten's neck and shoulders, quick, fleeting, then nibbles. All the while his hands bound her leather-clad wrists to the mattress; for once he was glad she always wore them.

"Nej---ANGH! It hurts..." Tenten gasped pitifully.

"Shuddup." He couldn't control himself. His fangs tore her flesh, her beautiful, succulent flesh, making her scream and struggle. Blood ran down her collar, which Neji greedily lapped up. It was like drinking acid. Sure he was addicted, but not crazy--- he wasn't about to start drinking enough to knock her out again.

"Nej_i..._" She moaned. "Stop... _please_..." _She must be feeling the pain, too_, he thought. Her pure, holy blood was probably inflaming her now--- something like a fever. Only this time he was the germ. His teeth reached the ties of her shirt, sharp fangs slicing through them like butter. It took both hands to try and unfasten her bra, and Tenten took full advantage of the opportunity and pushed him away roughly, clambering drunkenly for something to hit him over the head with. But Neji was too quick--- he grabbed her by the wrist, dragging the girl back to him.

"Neji!" Tenten growled, agitated. She didn't know what she wanted more right now, for him to drop dead or to continue faster, rougher. But the pain that shot into her skin when they touched electrified her like lightning--- it was too much. "Neji, please..."

"No." She was underneath him again, his breath along her collarbone, then sliding down to her chest---

"H... HOT!" she screamed. She didn't know if the pain made it worse or better anymore. To be truthful, she was beginning not to care. "UNGH..." He was sucking, biting--- the heat flickered wildly everywhere. "Neji, I... I can't---!"

Suddenly they both jumped as someone knocked loudly on the door. Neji quickly got up and rubbed his swollen, blood-stained lips with his fist as Tenten slipped from under him, grabbed some clothes, and ran into the bathroom to tidy herself again. And maybe to hide from him...

"Hyuuga, you in there?" It was the unmistakable growl of Sasuke, all right. Neji straightened himself up as best as he could, unlocking the door with a fluid motion.

"Your timing sucks as usual," Neji murmured darkly, but it wasn't Sasuke who greeted him at the door.

"Sorry we're late, then," the blonde woman smirked, quirking an eyebrow at him and placing her hand on a shapely hip. Any other day Neji would not have only bitten but bedded her in a heartbeat. As it was, he apparently had a thing for brunettes at the moment, not to mention the fact that Sasuke stood behind her in a way that more than suggested ownership. But as much skin as she was showing, the woman appeared to have no fang marks visible. That was pretty typical for these half-breeds; they didn't like to feed like his kind did.

"Can we come in?" The woman asked, suddenly bringing Neji back to Earth. His answer was to simply to move aside.

"This her?" Neji asked skeptically as Sasuke snorted. The other man nodded simply, a small smirk playing at the corner of his lip.

"Mmm... What a place you got here. Can't say _I_ would spend the night, though," the woman commented dryly, stepping gingerly over the carpet and observing with little reserved suspicion the tussled blankets of the bed down the hall. "You party before we got here or was that just... 'feeding?'" Neji opened his mouth to retort but just then Tenten opened the door to the bathroom, almost knocking over the other woman.

"Oh, I am so, _so_ sorry!" Tenten quickly apologized, then gaped. It took her a good few minutes before she seemed to be able to get her tongue to move again. "You... you're... Omigosh, y-you're Yamanaka Ino!" Tenten's face seemed to glow with excitement. "I-I've seen all your shows! All of them! _Lover's Dust_ was my all time favorite! Omigosh, are you---?"

"You know this woman?" Neji couldn't help but ask with disbelief. Tenten reflected his look right back at him.

"How could you _not_ know about her? She's Yamanaka Ino, the famous TV actress!" Neji raised an eyebrow and turned to reevaluate his guests. Okay, so apparently Sasuke had better connections than he had thought.

"You brought a movie star. To my house." Sasuke rolled his eyes and Ino turned to give the man a smile that clearly said, "Oh, be patient with him. He's slow."

"Let _me_ explain," she said, then suddenly remembered the plastic bag she held in her hand. "Actually, first, are we allowed to eat in here? I brought some Chinese food over from this cute little restaurant I saw on the way, I hope you don't mind..."

Five minutes later, the four of them found themselves seated around the kitchen table with various boxes of Chinese food scattered about. Tenten would eat peacefully for a moment or two, and then cry out, "This is the best Chinese food _ever_! It's... it's like you _knew_!" Finally, Ino giggled and answered, "Actually, we did." That stopped the other girl's chopsticks halfway to her mouth.

"...what?" Ino giggled again.

"Well, Sasuke-kun here knew, anyways. He's actually from the Uchiha clan of slightly psychic pseudo-vampires," the blonde explained, running her fingers absentmindedly through her lengthy ponytail.

"Slightly psycho what?" Tenten attempted, her eyes wide.

"I can see about a day into the future if I really want to," Sasuke replied coolly with a shrug as if it were completely normal.

"That's why he's only slightly psychic," Ino added.

"So..." Tenten paused, then grinned. "You're slychic?"

"_No_," Neji interrupted simply with a snort. "Anyways, now that you're in an explaining mood, care to tell me what's going on?" Ino gritted her teeth slightly, but smiled nonetheless.

"Well, since you're in a _polite_ mood, I guess I might as well." She slid a little back in her chair causing the already short hem of her dress to rise slowly up her thigh. "How much do you know already?"

"Nothing. That's why you're here." Tenten watched the tense exchange in confusion. She had merely assumed that the two strangers were Neji's friends or something, the man a colleague that he had over often. Now she was beginning to get the feeling that something sinister hung in the air.

"Excuse me, but… what's going on?" Tenten finally asked out loud. Everyone turned to look at the woman as if just remembering that she was there.

"Does she know?" Ino asked, her indigo eyes darting quickly in Neji's direction. The vampire sighed.

"No, she---"

"Do I know _what_?" Tenten asked, a fraction of irritation beginning to mount. "Neji, what's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Tenten, it's nothing that you---"

"What's going _on_?" the woman insisted, gripping her chopsticks tighter. "Tell me what's going on, Neji."

"Tenten, I just said that it's nothing that you---"

"We think that you may be a priestess, in which case Neji here, who happens to be addicted to your blood, will spend the rest of your life burning to death if we don't find a cure," Ino smiled innocently, playing with Sasuke's fingers that were twined in hers. The said man seemed not to notice, however, and instead stared blankly at the two across from him.

"I…" Tenten looked back and forth between the faces around her, then down at the kitchen table. "What? I don't understand, what… what does that mean?"

"It's that burning sensation," Neji muttered finally, looking at the woman searchingly. "That one you feel on your skin and in your blood. That's not supposed to happen in a normal encounter with a vampire." He suddenly thought about the two of them together earlier, his eagerness to have her that seemed so ridiculous to him now in hindsight. _And to think, I almost did this. What the hell was I thinking? _

"Oh." Tenten blinked rapidly, tapping her chopsticks together rhythmically in concentration. "I… But, I don't understand! How can I be a priestess? Don't I have to be trained to be one of those? And what do you mean addicted? And what cure? What does it all mean?" She looked at Ino imploringly. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to read your fortune, of course."

"Huh?" The collective confusion of the two across from the woman elicited a grin from Ino who looked playfully at Sasuke.

"Baby, you really didn't tell them, did you?" she teased the man, cocking her head to the side and cascading golden hair into her eyes.

"Didn't have time," he replied shortly, apparently unaffected by the pet name. "I thought we established that."

"Okay, I have had about enough of this," Neji snapped suddenly, rising from the table and upsetting a carton of sticky rice. "What the hell is she here for, Uchiha? I thought you said she knew the cure for all this crap! Instead you bring some halfwit movie star who thinks she knows how to–––"

"SIT." Neji fell back into his chair automatically as the sudden booming of Ino's voice caught him off guard. "That's enough out of you. I think it's about time we reveal just what you're dealing with, here." Ino's face grew deadly serious as she slowly drew out a large deck of Tarot cards from her purse. "Yamanaka Ino; I may play an actress on TV, but my number one job is… the Messenger of Fate." She fanned the cards dramatically, revealing to her astonished companions that they were in fact blank. "Bet you weren't expecting _that_, huh?"

"The Messenger… of Fate?" Tenten repeated, feeling the air in the room fairly crackle with a sudden and new energy. "Then you're not an actress?"

"I'm a whole lot more than just an actress, Tenten-chan," Ino smiled, adjusting the cards into a pile and beginning to shuffle. "Sasuke-kun here said you'd be some trouble, Hyuuga, but I never would have guessed how arrogant you'd be to not recognize me." Neji mentally flinched at the dig, but showed no outward emotion but annoyance.

"The Hyuuga are a proud clan who prefer to have nothing to do with Fate's little underlings," he growled. "The Undead---"

"The Undead are governed by Fate just like the rest of us and therefore have to answer to any little underling's Fate _chooses_," the Messenger snapped, clapping together her cards for emphasis. "You of all people should know that." Immediately she began to arrange the cards in a tetractys arrangement, a four-rowed pyramid. Tenten watched on in awe, the only fortune telling she was familiar with being the false crystal ball act at Madame H's.

"I don't believe you."

"Hyuuga–--"

"Honey." Ino held up a hand as she laid down the last card. "I've got this one."

"Then what am I here for?" Sasuke muttered under his breath, but continued to sit back in the chair with an apathetic stare anyways.

"Now then, Hyuuga Neji. You claim that the Undead aren't governed by Fate? That my authority as the Messenger isn't as powerful as I say?"

"I never---"

"One!" Ino flipped the top card dramatically, and in a flash of light, where the image was once blank, was now a picture of a black screw. "Neji, the premise of our reading."

"Wh--- how did you do that?!" Tenten exclaimed, gasping in surprise. Ino paid her no attention; her intense indigo gaze was piercing Neji now, intent on making her point.

"Two!" She flipped the next two cards in successive order. "The Light Card to the right, the Dark card to the left." Once more images appeared on the overturned cards, this time a panda and a deer, respectively.

"What the hell is any of this proving?" Neji attempted once more, but it was no use. It was clear that some outside force had possessed Ino; her movements were calculated, exact, her blue eyes faded to lakewater.

"Fate has led you specifically to the Panda, Tenten. The Deer…" Ino paused, her eyes clearing for a flicker of a moment. "The consequences for your actions as ordained by Fate. Your punishment."

"My punishment? What punishment?" Despite himself the vampire's control on his temper was slipping fast, and Sasuke tensed, watching him carefully.

"The Deer… the symbol for Death." The blonde woman turned to the man now, her eyes still murky with the haze of possession. "Hyuuga Neji, by your actions, Fate has ordained that you die… by Tenten's hand."

_I'm way sorry to end on a cliffy there, but I just want to get this thing out of my sight! XD Don't worry too much about specifics like what the Messenger is exactly and how the Tarot cards work; I plan to answer those next chapter. But PHEW! I'm so glad I got more of the exposition out! I know you guys have been waiting so patiently, and I hope it was worth the wait, Let's hope Chapter 5 doesn't take so long, ne? As always!3 Labbess_

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	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **A special thanks to **StrawberrySmoothie99's **support for this story, and reminding me that I did promise it wouldn't be another half year before I updated XD;; And to everyone who continues to read and support "Vamp" as well, I hope I can live up to your expectations. Well, it's summertime, but my muse has finally returned from vacation. Viva! On with the drama...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. (The disclaimer is a lie! No, wait...)

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"Hyuuga Neji, by your actions, Fate has ordained that you die… by Tenten's hand."

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Neji waited, stunned, unable to say anything in reply. Was it true? Was this woman's prediction about him true? It certainly sounded like it, the way things had been shaping up, but to die, he... Wait a minute...

"Die? What--- why would I want to kill Neji?" Tenten exclaimed instantly, fright blossoming in her wide hazel eyes. "I'm not--- It's not like I---"

"She's bluffing, Tenten," Neji said evenly. Everyone turned to him. "I can't die."

"And just why not?" Ino's faded eyes became clear now, her stubborn streak breaking through whatever supernatural power had had a hold of her. "And still you doubt the words of Fate, Hyuuga Neji?"

"You're full of crap." Sasuke glowered instantly at this remark, flinching in agitation and making a move to stand up, but Ino put a hand to his thigh to stop him.

"Leave him be," she whispered, although her tense posture said otherwise.

"Have you forgotten that I'm a _vampire_? I can't _die_--- I'm undead!" A self-assured smirk snaked across Neji's lips now, an unspoken "checkmate" resounding through the stillness of the kitchen. "So you can take your little card tricks and---"

"Neji!" The man hesitated, then turned to Tenten, who had spoken. "Neji, I think... I think she's telling the truth."

"What?" Neji clenched his teeth in irritation; if there was one person he thought he could count as being on his side, it was the woman he had so graciously taken in. "What the hell are you saying? How can you possibly say that?"

"You saw them! The cards were completely blank!"

"Smoke and mirrors," Neji scoffed, his eye flicking over to the couple across from him, but they remained perfectly still, watching patiently.

"And the Chinese food?"

"You heard earlier that Uchiha possesses psychic abilities." Tenten sighed in frustration, clenching her hands into fists, the familiar leather twisting against her palms.

"Look, I know this sounds stupid, but just trust me! I used to work in the fortune business before I quit and this... I've never seen anything like this." Tenten turned to him now, her brown eyes wavering with some emotion he couldn't quite name. "And... this feels like that night you came to get me. I didn't know how I knew you were coming back that night, but I... I _knew_. Maybe... maybe that's my power, the priestess power you mentioned. Maybe it's not. But... just trust me, okay? Please..." Perhaps it was the way she spoke, the way her words seemed not her own. Or was it the tilt of her chin, that slight familiar regality he had seen so many centuries ago? Neji blinked, then sighed forcibly. No, it was in her eyes. That look of need, of dependence, that look of being so utterly lost... The vampire suddenly realized what it was with a start; it was the same look that had been on her face the night they had met.

"Well, Hyuuga?" Ino ventured lightly, her nails clicking softly against the back of the next card. "Shall we continue?"

"Flip the damn card," he muttered at last, not looking anyone in the eyes. Ino's eyes glimmered slightly, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"All right then. This," the blonde woman said, pointing to the card in question, the rightmost card on the third row of the pyramid. "This is the Creator Card. Once I flip this card, everything changes. This is the card of the future, the decisions we must make. I warn you, this may not be easy, but I feel that Fate will be lenient with you." Ino's eyes flicked to Tenten. "After all, a servant of Fate has just prayed in your stead."

_Prayed? Is that what I just did? But I didn't do anything at all, I just felt..._ Tenten frowned slightly, her thoughts swimming dizzily in confusion. There was so much to take in, and every detail seemed of immense importance.

"Just flip it." To the woman's surprise, all trace of the malice that had resided in Neji's voice up to that point seemed to have disappeared. Now he sounded... worn, tired.

"As you wish." In an instant the card was on its back. "Well."

"What is it?" Tenten prodded. "I see a road."

"The Road of Shadows," Ino explained, her look now one of mixed amusement and interest. "It's been a while since I've seen that one..."

"So we're going _there_ then," Sasuke said, his look darkening with confusion. "But I thought you said that only---"

"I did," Ino replied, meeting the halfling's gaze. "But I see now that I was wrong. After all, these appear to be... special circumstances." Her eyes drifted back to Neji and Tenten as if appraising the two anew. "I don't make the rules, I just read the print."

"So what does it mean? Where are we going?" Tenten asked finally, nervously gathering together the remainder of their food into a pile.

"It means that we will be traveling to the Realm of Death. I can only assume that by being given this generous option Fate intends that you beg for your life from Death himself."

"Can you do that?" Tenten ventured incredulously.

"Of course. Death is a... good friend of mine. It won't be easy, but..." Ino trailed off, then shook her head, blond ponytail swishing silently. "Tenten-chan, you said that you used to work at a fortune telling shop, correct?" Tenten brightened.

"Oh, yeah. A little place off of Vida Boulevard. Why?" Ino bit her nail pensively.

"Well, this is going to be tricky... I need a crystal ball, one at least vaguely halfway decent, and I don't carry one around with me for obvious reasons. Do you you suppose you could sneak back in and 'borrow' one for a while?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Stealing? That's a bit low for you, Ino." She jabbed him quickly in the ribs before he could utter another remark, however.

"Wait a minute, she's not going anywhere." Neji, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke up.

"Why not? It's to help _you_," Tenten pointed out.

"That's not the point; what if something happened to you? In case you didn't remember, I'm still addicted to your blood. No. Go find your own damn crystal ball, Yamanaka." He was trying to cover up his worry with callousness.

"Fine," Ino smirked, making a show of getting up and pushing in her chair. "Then perhaps you'll enjoy complete annihilation of your existence. After all, _that_ can happen to vampires, too, in case you didn't remember." Her blue gaze bordered on deadly.

"Wait!" Tenten exclaimed, getting up, too. She turned to the vampire at her side. "Look, if you're so worried something's going to happen then come with me. But I'm not gonna let you get killed by me if we can help it."

"Why?" Neji asked despite himself.

"Because I'm not a killer; that's not what I do." That shut him up. Tenten turned to Ino again. "Does it matter what size it is?"

"No, just as long as it's semi-legit I can take care of the rest," Ino replied, a sparkle of admiration in her eyes. "But you're wrong about Neji accompanying you; it's still daylight out, even if barely."

"So?"

"Really? You didn't read anything about daylight in that antiquated book you were toting about?" Neji sneered despite himself.

"You said I couldn't trust anything in there," Tenten shot back, a hand on her hip.

"Well... I didn't mean _all_ of it."

"Anyways," Ino said dismissively. "You'd best get a move on if we want to start out. The sooner, the better, I do believe." She nodded to her partner. "Take Sasuke with you. He's the best bodyguard money could buy. Don't you agree, Hyuuga?" Neji hesitated, not liking being put on the spot.

"Uchiha, you better watch her," he growled at last. "If this doesn't work out..."

"Sheesh, stop worrying, you sound like a mom," Tenten teased, causing Neji to blush in unexpected embarrassment. "All right... Sasuke, was it? You ready?"

"As ever, I suppose," he offered with a slight frown, not quite sure how to respond to the woman's determined cheeriness. The group collectively headed for the door. On the way, Sasuke pulled Ino back.

"I thought you said you weren't going to get involved," he whispered.

"What, are you jealous?" Ino smirked. Sasuke's face didn't change, however.

"I'm worried about you. Do you know what you're getting into?"

"I'm fine," Ino replied automatically, then added softly. "I know what I'm doing, okay? This is something special that happens once in a long, long time. I want to be a part of it. Besides... I have to finish giving Hyuuga his reading. Now be a good boy and don't get into any trouble." She kissed him fleetingly as if to say, "You'll get the rest when you get back."

"Now what?" Neji asked grumpily as the door clicked close and turned back to the Messenger of Fate. "Something tells me they won't be back for at least an hour, knowing her."

"If I recall," Ino stated casually, "we still have some cards to turn over. And these... these I think you'll be _very_ interested in, Hyuuga..."

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"I'm sorry, Neji-nii," Hinata murmured into the quickly cooling air, letting her eyelids fall closed for a moment. "Forgive me..."

"What'd you say?" Hinata squeaked in surpise at the suddenness of the voice.

"Ah, n-nothing, I was just... um..." The vampire princess looked down as she continued to stroll down the sidewalk. "Um... Th... Thank you again, Kiba-kun, for... for everything. What was this charm again?"

"It's called a _Jujin Bushin_," the werewolf replied, looking over his shoulder every now and then. Not that he expected any vampires to be out at this time, but still, one could never be too careful he had learned. Akamaru trailed behind, keeping a careful watch from the rear. _I feel like we're escorting her..._

"Ah, right. It's really very helpful, isn't it?"

"Well..." Kiba let a cocky smirk settle onto his face. It never failed; he always got a kick out of impressing Hinata, even with the tiniest thing. "I mean, yeah, like I said earlier, it's kinda an old werewolf charm to make us more human as the full moon gets closer, so it only makes sense that it would protect you from the sun."

"So am I... really human right now?" Hinata marveled.

"Well, on the outside... It's dark magic, it's hard to explain," Kiba quickly added, trying not to look as ignorant as he was. To be truthful, he hadn't fooled with spells and charms since that witch he'd been seeing, and she was at least a couple years ago. "It's complicated. But it should last you a couple days if you need it."

_You totally have no idea what the heck you're talking about_, Akamaru snorted from behind.

"Hey, if I want your opinion, I'll ask for it!" Kiba snapped.

"Oh! What did Akamaru-kun say?" Hinata asked, glancing at the white dog.

"Nothing important." So this was it. Kiba looked over at Hinata out of the corner of his eye, her girlish fluster evident in everything she did. After days of spying on that damn Naruto kid, today was the day he had finally been able to set up a date between the two. It wasn't easy; Hinata was a hopeless, embarrassed mess when it came to dates, so far from the girl who had snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him like a hooker. Rustling up that charm without raising suspicion was pretty hard, too. And then hiding the fact that they were seeing each other from their respective clans was no walk in the park, either. _Seeing each other..._

Kiba's eyes widened as he realized that his face was heating up. Well, well, it wasn't like that at all! No! He was helping her out for something to do, hell, maybe he'd turned over a new leaf. Kiba almost gagged at this thought, quickly correcting himself mentally. Hell, maybe he'd rob some old lady after this, he'd more than deserved it with all the goody-goody work he was doing for Princess Helpless over there.

_I mean look at her_, Kiba scoffed inwardly_. Look at her, with her little blushing cheeks, and her googly eyes all over some kid she can't even talk to, and her fidgety hands, and her wet lips, and her full hips, and her big chest, and... and... Oh, boy_. Kiba quickly turned away_. Damnit, I do_ not_ want a cutesy little vampire! Well, okay, I did want her at one point in time, but that was different, now I know her--- Wait, no, I don't, that would mean I care! But I do care, because not caring would mean I would just want her like any other female, but at the same time--- _

"Kiba-kun?"

"Whoa! What, yeah, what?" He asked quickly, the girl tearing him from his thoughts.

"Isn't that the shop over there?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah..." _Damnit, get it together, Kiba! This is the last time you'll see her, so make it short, make it sweet, then get the hell outta here so you won't have to see her face again._

"Well, um... I guess this is it."

"I guess so." Silence passed between the two, Akamaru scratching his ear thoughtlessly. Kiba cleared his throat.

"Well, uh, good luck in there."

"Um, thank you. And thank you so much for everything. Oh!" Hinata looked up suddenly. "Your charm! How will I return it to you?"

"Uh, don't worry about it. It's not that valuable or anything_." Ma is gonna kill me if I don't get that thing back, but no way in hell am I risking it._

"Well, then..." Hinata shuffled her shoes in the dust for a moment, then suddenly her lips brushed Kiba's cheek. "Bye, Kiba-kun!"

"Oh... damn," Kiba muttered, his face turning beet red as he watched the vampiress amble off to the shop entrance.

_What's the matter, Kiba?_

"N... nothing. Nothing's wrong!" He snapped, turning abruptly. "Let's go home!" But even as he said this, the boy hesitated.

_Kiba...?_

"But... Well... we might as well see how she does, right? I mean, after all, we spent all this friggin' time on her, right?" Kiba managed as he began to walk quickly in the direction of the psychic shop.

_Wha---? I thought we were going home! Kiba, make up your mind!_

"Shut up!" Kiba growled. "I _am_ making up my mind! We'll go home in a minute!" His blush, however, continued to cling stubbornly to his face. _It was just a kiss... Hell, I've screwed so many women I can't even remember... _his mind insisted. _This is no different... No different at all..._

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"All right, thank you!" Sasuke watched with disgust as Tenten finally turned from the counter, carrying her greasy paper bag with glee.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked as he pulled open a glass door for the woman. She blinked.

"Are you kidding? Neji doesn't keep any food in that stupid place, so I'm starving all the time! The least I can do is hit up a burger joint or two while I'm free," Tenten protested, waving a soggy french fry in the man's direction. "Besides which, I can't just go barging into Madame H's looking for her prized possession while she's _there_, can I? So we need to kill some time until she closes shop." She finished this with a nod to herself and grabbed a couple more fries from the bag.

"I don't like this," Sasuke muttered. "I thought you were in a hurry to save Hyuuga."

"Hey! I am, all right? I just don't want to screw this up." She paused, and then gave Sasuke a meaningful look. "You're worried about Yamanaka-san, aren't you?"

"Well, I am _her_ bodyguard," he replied pointedly, choosing instead to look at the shops they passed.

"Yeah, that is kinda weird."

"What?" Sasuke turned to Tenten without meaning to.

"Well, I mean, how do you end up with a half-vampire as your bodyguard? Seems just a tad bizarre." Sasuke sighed.

"How far we from that shop?" But Tenten was not to be distracted.

"A couple blocks or so. Plenty of time for your story."

"My... story?" The Uchiha male quirked an eyebrow. "Why does it matter?"

"I was just curious. But you don't have to tell me if you don't want. I can understand if it's a touchy subject." _I can see why Neji was revolted at having to be chained to this woman now. She's enough to drive anyone nuts. _

"It's not... touchy," Sasuke managed at last. "But it's not that interesting either."

"Sure it is. Tell me how you met," Tenten encouraged between bites of cheeseburger, then gasped. "Omigosh, this has got to be the best burger I've ever tasted!"

"At the time I was an assassin for the demon Orochimaru," Sasuke began slowly, although it was clear the memory still smarted despite his cool exterior. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"No way! A demon? And an assassin? That's way cool! How is that not cool?" Tenten insisted. "I thought you said this wasn't interesting!"

"Well..." Sasuke didn't like to admit it, but he did like the occasional ego stroking. "It is, I admit. But it wasn't fun and games, it was dirty work, killing the scum of the supernatural world. It wasn't something I had pictured myself doing."

"Really? Then why'd you do it? Good pay?" The two paused as they reached an intersection, waiting for the "walk" sign to appear.

"No. It wasn't about that. Like I said, I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"No family, huh? Just like me. I was raised by an orphanage. Actually, you see, it's kinda funny, because I woke up and---"

"They were all killed."

"Wh--- beg your pardon?" Tenten looked at the man before her, stupefied. But his eyes had turned a murderous black now; it was clear he was lost in the past.

"It... it wasn't always like that. I had a happy family, a good family, as far as our type goes. We could pass ourselves off as a rich human family, hiding what we really were. Things... things were fine, they worked. And then..." Sasuke stopped, his eyes searching the pavement as if for some lost thread of a thought. "I... I woke up to them. Dead. All of them, dead. Throats slit, lying in pools of blood... and I knew, I knew it had to be one of us. We had too much security, too many things in place to prevent a mass... We didn't even think that could happen."

"What... what happened next?" Tenten asked quietly, her food long forgotten in the wake of the heartbreaking tale. A dark grimace clouded Sasuke's face.

"It was my older brother, Itachi." Even saying the name seemed to cause the halfling pure agony. "Damn him, he... He wanted to be a full vampire so badly, so he sold his family's souls in order to... I couldn't stop him. He left me alive, and I couldn't stop him. And then..."

"And then?" Tenten pushed, her brown eyes wavering with fear and anticipation.

"They... Fate. Fate called in Death." The grimace twisted ever so slightly. "It was all over. And then I was alone."

"Kami, I'm... I'm so sorry," Tenten breathed. "I had no idea..."

"That's what I was like when Orochimaru found me," Sasuke continued. "I was determined to never become like my brother, but I... I ended up drinking more blood then not. I ended up becoming ruthless. I didn't care about humans one way or the other. I couldn't coexist; I knew too much about the spiritual realm, knew too well how to recognize a demon, a witch, a ghoul... Then I found out what the bastard was really after. He wanted me to become a vampire, just like my brother, to increase my Uchiha powers beyond their intended limit. So I killed him. And just like that, I had no purpose again. Until Ino found me. I was sitting somewhere, some shady place on the spiritual side, drowning in self-pity and lost, pathetic, and... she asked me to come with her. She said Fate had sent her to give me a better life. She said... I don't know, I didn't even hear her, but for the first time since I was a child I, I was actually, I was truly..."

"Happy?" Tenten finished with a whisper.

"Yes." Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes widened, as if seeing Tenten for the first time. He looked away abruptly, clearing his throat. "I thought you said the shop was a couple more blocks."

"Oh, it's coming up. See? Vida Boulevard, right over there." She pointed airily, and then frowned. "You've never told anyone that, have you? Have you kept all those memories locked inside you all this time?"

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke replied gruffly, clearly a bit embarrassed. "The memories, what happened... It's gone. I have a new purpose. Right now, it concerns you and Hyuuga. So let's hurry up." But even as the halfling vampire increased his pace Tenten could sense a lightness to his step that hadn't been there before, as if a great burden had been eased. She smiled. At least someone would be a little happier after all this mess.

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"So what's a woman like you doing with a half-breed like Uchiha?" Neji ventured casually as the two made their way back to the kitchen table, now cleared of all articles save the perfectly formed card pyramid.

"What do you mean?" Ino replied just as lightly, yet as she settled into her seat she could feel the air tingle with friction behind her.

"I mean..." Neji settled his lips beside her ear, curving into a small smile. "I'm sure there are better men to choose from than an emotionally stunted halfling." Ino sucked in her breath in a slight hiss, and slowly turned, meeting his gaze mere inches from his, challenging.

"You mean... a man like you?" Her eyelids sank until her lashes barely brushed her cheek, their breath mingled, he moved forward...

"Not in your best wet dream, Hyuuga!" Ino turned abruptly back to the cards, the sudden movement causing her blonde ponytail to swat Neji in the face.

"Ow! Damnit," Neji could only mutter, rubbing his face and straightening up.

"If you're going to attempt to seduce me, you're going to have to try with something better than a weak little Byakugan," Ino added with a laugh as she nodded for him to take his seat across the table. "Besides which, I know something you don't..."

"What's that?" Neji growled, his glare reminding Ino of a pouting child.

"You can't go after anyone else while Tenten-chan's still in the picture, and you have no idea why," the blonde responded with a warm chuckle.

"I wasn't really trying anyways," Neji sulked. "You're not my type."

"Oh, of course not," Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "Now, down to business..."

"Must we?" the vampire asked in a bored tone.

"Yes. Now this card... This is the Sustainer Card." She tapped the middle card lightly. "Things that shouldn't be changed." She flipped the card slowly, and in a flash an image of a heavy chain appeared.

"The Chain of Heart. You are bound to be by Tenten's side, Neji. You have chosen not to leave her. This you must continue to do."

"I wasn't planning to. Addict, remember?" He gazed at the clock. 7:30. The sun should have gone down by then. If he needed to, he could make a fast getaway.

"The last card in this row," Ino said, ignoring him and pointing to the leftmost card. "The Destroyer Card. The card of past decisions you must discontinue." Neji snorted as he leaned back in his chair, but waited all the same. "It might not be pretty. Are you ready?"

"How many times are you going to ask---?"

"There." Neji's breath caught in his throat. "I warned you it wouldn't be pretty. Although, I must admit she _is_ very lovely."

"Wh..." He couldn't speak. There was that feeling, that feeling of being punched straight in the gut. "How? How did you... how could you possibly...?" His blank eyes stared at her through time and space, the shadows of memories dancing before him, the flicker of dreams, the whisper of words...

_"Oh, Neji, what _is_ reality_?_"_

_"Neji, I love you…"_

_"Neji, I'm still alive."_

"What... the hell?" Neji whispered hoarsely, gazing at the card with such a raw intensity that Ino was fairly startled. "How... how do you know about her?"

"Who is she, Hyuuga?" Ino asked carefully. "She looks like a... priestess. No. She looks... like Tenten-chan."

"She's not." The vampire's emotion-laden voice revealed him. "She... What kind of cruel trick of Fate is this?" Ino stared at him searchingly.

"A priestess who looks like Tenten-chan, but isn't? And you've got the look of a wounded lover all over you." Neji jumped at this precise appraisal of himself. "Who is she?"

"She's no one. She... she's no one. She's dead."

"She was your lover, this priestess, wasn't she?"

"Damnit, it doesn't matter!" In one motion Neji had swept the cards off the table and into the air. As they fluttered to the ground, however, he could see they were all blank once more. "She's dead."

"Ah, but she isn't really, is she?" Neji looked up.

_"Neji, I'm still alive."_

"She was clothed in white, surrounded by bay leaf. Do you know what bay leaf means?" Ino asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"I hadn't realized you were a connoisseur of flowers."

"I am a woman of many talents," Ino replied with a self-appreciating glow. "But bay leaf, bay leaf means 'I change... but in death.'"

"What?"

"Neji, I think you knew this when you first saw her, you just didn't want to acknowledge it. If I'm reading the messages of Fate itself correctly, and that is my job," Ino's grin widened as she carefully replaced her fallen cards into her deck, "Tenten-chan is the reincarnated form of your priestess. You get a second chance, in other words. Don't screw it up."

**So what did you think? I finally got to explain some more this chapter, so hopefully things will come together now and we can move onto the action. What lies in wait in the Realm of Death? And before that, what will happen when Sasuke and Tenten interrupt Naruto and Hinata's date? How will Neji face Tenten knowing _she's_ the woman he's been haunted by, though in reincarnated form? All this and more next chapter, so don't miss out! Also, don't forget to review to let me know what you think! ~Labbess**


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